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Articles from Roy Rowlands | Selfgrowth.com
- Network Rail prosecuted for Grayrigg derailment - by Submitted on Jan 26, 2012 from Roy RowlandsNetwork Rail is being prosecuted for the Grayrigg train derailment in 2007, which caused the death of one passenger and injuries to 86 people. The ORR has started criminal proceedings against Network Rail for a breach of health and safety law which caused the derailment. The charge is of ...
Views: 481 - Network Rail Western plans for future - by Submitted on Nov 15, 2011 from Roy RowlandsThe new independent business unit for the Western route, launched in Swindon this week alongside the devolution of power to the routes elsewhere in Network Rail, has outlined its vision for the South West of England. Plans for Network Rail Western include improving rail capacity, especially ...
Views: 461 - New brain tumour techniques trialled - by Submitted on Nov 03, 2011 from Roy RowlandsA phase 2 clinical trial, GALA-5, has started in the UK for a new surgical technique to combat brain tumours. The Samantha Dickson Brain Tumour Trust (SDBTT) is working in partnership with Cancer Research UK to fund the trials, and if proven to be safe and effective, a larger phase 3 trial ...
Views: 493 - New drug starves tumours - by Submitted on Nov 03, 2011 from Roy RowlandsA new drug that cuts blood flow to tumours, starving them of necessary nutrients, is being trialled. The phase one clinical trial of the drug L-NNA is taking place at the Mount Vernon Cancer Centre in north-west London on 40 patients with advanced tumours. It aims to establish the correct ...
Views: 403 - New ideas to clamp down on cable theft - by Submitted on Jan 26, 2012 from Roy RowlandsMPs are calling on the Government to act with more urgency in tackling metal theft, as the crime has cost the railway industry over £16m in the last year, as well as disrupting passenger journeys. The Transport Select Committee suggests that scrap dealers should be legally required to show ...
Views: 536 - New offer for public sector pensions - by Submitted on Nov 03, 2011 from Roy RowlandsMinisters are set to outline an ‘enhanced offer’ to unions on public sector pensions. The two sides are holding a special meeting at the Cabinet Office to discuss the proposals. Danny Alexander, chief secretary to the Treasury, will announce the offer, which is understood to focus on more ...
Views: 412 - NHS managers threatened for rationing care - by Submitted on Nov 14, 2011 from Roy RowlandsNHS chiefs could be sacked for rationing care to save money, Health Secretary Andrew Lansley is set to announce today. The use of ‘minimum waiting times’ before patients receive treatment are to be banned from March 2012. This follows a report from the Cooperation and Competition Panel ...
Views: 536 - NR prepares for Monday’s ‘big bang’ shake-up - by Submitted on Nov 11, 2011 from Roy RowlandsNetwork Rail is preparing for the launch on Monday of the rest of its devolved routes. Scotland and Wessex have been operating since May as distinct business units, with their own route managing directors, and from November 14 they will be joined by the East Midlands, London North Eastern, ...
Views: 978 - Nutrition services for people with HIV - by Submitted on Nov 21, 2011 from Roy RowlandsNutrition services for people with HIV The importance of good nutrition for those living with HIV and AIDS has been highlighted by the British Dietetic Association. A specialist group working in this field, Dietitians in HIV and AIDS (DHIVA), provides practical services to support those ...
Views: 594 - NXEA invests in ticket machines at Norwich - by Submitted on Jan 26, 2012 from Roy RowlandsNational Express East Anglia (NXEA) has invested £45,000 in installing additional ticket machines at Norwich station. Customers can use the machines to collect pre-paid and Advance booked tickets, and the project seeks to improve customer service and speed up collection times for passengers ...
Views: 485 - Partnership on Dignity in Care starts work - by Submitted on Nov 03, 2011 from Roy RowlandsThe commission on dignity in care begins today, led by the Partnership on Dignity in Care alliance, which wants to improve care for elderly patients in hospitals and care homes. The NHS Confederation, the Local Government Association and the charity Age UK have joined together to collect ...
Views: 400 - Passenger satisfaction remains at 84% - by Submitted on Jan 26, 2012 from Roy RowlandsNational satisfaction on the railways varies significantly across different routes and train operating companies, official statistics from the National Passenger Survey show, when 30,590 passengers were surveyed in autumn 2011. National satisfaction overall was 84%, the same as the score for ...
Views: 468 - Pharmacy shortages worsen as drugs sold abroad - by Submitted on Nov 10, 2011 from Roy RowlandsPatients’ groups have said it is “unacceptable” that so many pharmacies have shortages of drugs. At least 80% of pharmacies are often unable to immediately supply drugs, with almost all having to spending hours trying to locate them from wholesalers and other retailers. Many blame the export ...
Views: 513 - Police riot review could introduce water cannon - by Submitted on Mar 15, 2012 from Roy RowlandsThe Metropolitan police force is developing more “assertive tactics” to tackle disorder, as the Scotland Yard review into last summer’s riots ‘Four Days in August’ is published. This includes the potential to buy water cannon, costing around £1m, and making baton rounds more readily ...
Views: 579 - Rail freight forecasts published & Virgin West Coast Main Line contract extended - by Submitted on Oct 28, 2011 from Roy RowlandsRail freight forecasts published Rail freight forecasts, published yesterday by MDS Transmodal on behalf of the Rail Freight Group (RFG), show ‘strong’ prospects for growth in the industry. Increasing demands on the rail network mean that volumes of rail freight are expected to double ...
Views: 465 - Rail regulations facing abolition are ‘not red tape’, say campaigners - by Submitted on Nov 11, 2011 from Roy RowlandsPassenger groups and opposition MPs are alarmed at the possible consequences of the scrapping of hundreds of railway regulations under the Government’s ‘Red Tape Challenge’. Even the National Rail Conditions of Carriage could be scrapped or watered down and made voluntary, and operators could ...
Views: 586 - Reprieve for Brompton from High Court judge - by Submitted on Nov 08, 2011 from Roy RowlandsChildren’s heart surgery at London’s Royal Brompton has won a High Court reprieve, after a ruling declaring that the planned closure of the unit as part of a wider reorganisation was unlawful. Sir Ian Kennedy’s evaluation of the three hospitals offering children’s heart surgery decided that ...
Views: 394 - Schools emissions rising - by Submitted on Nov 03, 2011 from Roy RowlandsSchool carbon emissions are on the rise due to an increase in electricity consumption, according to new research. Researchers from the University of Cambridge and Shinawatra University, Thailand, studied 25,000 Display Energy Certificates (DECs) from 2008-9, which show buildings’ annual ...
Views: 364 - Second home owners’ discounts could be cut - by Submitted on Nov 03, 2011 from Roy RowlandsCommunities Secretary Eric Pickles wants councils to have more flexibility over council tax discounts for second home owners, allowing them to further reduce the discounts if they prefer. If councils cut the discounts offered to second home owners, this could reduce the typical band D tax ...
Views: 424 - Second legal ruling quashing council cuts decision - by Submitted on Nov 11, 2011 from Roy RowlandsA council’s plans to cuts its adult social care budget have been ruled unlawful by a High Court judge in landmark case. Two severely disabled adults, referred to in court as JM and NT, brought the case against Isle of Wight council, which Mrs Justice Lang said had failed to comply with its ...
Views: 416 - Second NHS trust considers private takeover - by Submitted on Mar 15, 2012 from Roy RowlandsA second hospital trust is considering handing its management over to a private company – despite Government assurances that the first to do so, Hinchingbrooke Health Care Trust, now run by Circle, was a ‘one-off’ due to unique circumstances at that hospital. George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust, ...
Views: 673 - Signal workers to strike again - by Submitted on Jan 26, 2012 from Roy RowlandsRail signal workers in Scotland are holding further strikes over career progression. RMT union members will take industrial action on January 23 and January 27, following a three-day strike at Christmas. The staff, based at the West of Scotland Signalling Centre, are disputing changes to a ...
Views: 556 - Solar panels project provides training opportunities - by Submitted on Nov 03, 2011 from Roy RowlandsA solar panel scheme run by partnership with E.ON and Nottingham City Council has just been completed in Aspley, providing cheaper energy for residents and training for engineers who did work experience on the project. It is one of the single largest domestic PV schemes ever delivered in the ...
Views: 476 - Station closures in Greater Western franchise - by Submitted on Jan 26, 2012 from Roy RowlandsThe tendering process for the new Greater Western franchise is being conducted under the terms of Sir Roy McNulty’s Rail Review before Government has published its response in full. The RMT union blames this for the closure of ticket offices at 29 category E stations and reductions in opening ...
Views: 458 - Thames Hub plans ‘pie-in-the-sky’ – Medway Council - by Submitted on Nov 07, 2011 from Roy RowlandsArchitect Lord Foster’s Thames Hub plans have been criticised as “pie-in-the-sky” and even “potentially lethal” by one of the councils affected. The project would cost at least £50bn, but could generate huge financial benefits, as well as creating thousands of skilled jobs in engineering, ...
Views: 606 - Thames Hub to be considered - by Submitted on Jan 26, 2012 from Roy RowlandsThe Government is holding a formal consultation on UK aviation, and will examine the possibility of creating a Thames Hub as one of the options for increasing capacity – which could also have a dramatic impact on the rail network. Although it is the proposed new airport east of London that ...
Views: 475 - Ticket office reductions lead to inadequate staffing - by Submitted on Jan 26, 2012 from Roy RowlandsReductions in Underground station ticket office opening hours have led to problems with staffing and adequate information, a London TravelWatch report demonstrates. They found problems with gateline staff at tube stations, with some stations lacking staff presence and others with staffed ...
Views: 471 - TOCs demand Government action on cable theft - by Submitted on Nov 08, 2011 from Roy RowlandsTrain operators in the West Midlands, a cable theft hotspot, are appealing to MPs to “get touch” on the criminals responsible and trying to educate passengers about the scale of the problem. Representatives of Virgin Trains, London Midland, Network Rail, British Transport Police and ...
Views: 484 - Track and TOC integration takes another step forward - by Submitted on Jan 26, 2012 from Roy RowlandsThe new alliances between Network Rail and train operators are set to benefit passengers by delivering operations more quickly and cheaply. Six alliance framework agreements have so far been made, or about to be made with Abellio, Greater Anglia, c2c, ScotRail, Northern and Southeastern. A ...
Views: 510 - Train PPM ticks up to 88.7% - by Submitted on Jan 26, 2012 from Roy RowlandsNational train performance for period 10 is 88.7%, figures released by Network Rail show. This compares to 81.1% for the same period – 11 December to 7 January – last year. Performance for period 9 was 88.4% and the moving annual average is now at 91.6%. The upward turn in performance ends ...
Views: 533 - Transport committee back HS2 – with caveats - by Submitted on Nov 08, 2011 from Roy RowlandsThe Transport Select Committee has given its qualified backing to HS2, saying the network will provide a “step change in the capacity, quality, reliability and frequency of rail services between our major cities” – as long as it does extend north of Birmingham. The cross-party committee of ...
Views: 417 - Transport committee backs HS2 – with caveats - by Submitted on Nov 08, 2011 from Roy RowlandsThe Transport Select Committee has given its qualified backing to HS2, saying the network will provide a “step change in the capacity, quality, reliability and frequency of rail services between our major cities” – as long as it does extend north of Birmingham. The cross-party committee of ...
Views: 431 - Unemployment at 2.67 million - by Submitted on Mar 15, 2012 from Roy RowlandsEmployment statistics show that unemployment has increased by 28,000 in the period from November 2011 to January 2012 compared to the previous quarter. The total number of unemployed people is 2.67 million, the highest since 1995. Additionally, the unemployment rate is 8.4% of the ...
Views: 676 - Welfare reform to affect child poverty - by Submitted on Nov 21, 2011 from Roy RowlandsWelfare reform to affect child poverty Children’s commissioners in the UK have warned that child poverty could increase due to the state of the economy and public finances, with key services already being hit by cuts. Their report suggests that changes to the welfare system could push ...
Views: 602 - £1.5bn framework agreements announced - by Submitted on Jan 26, 2012 from Roy RowlandsNetwork Rail has announced framework agreements worth £1.5bn to deliver rail signalling projects, as part of wider reforms to Network Rail’s infrastructure business, with a greater focus on partnership. The agreements are expected to commence on April 2, operate for the remaining two years of ...
Views: 451 - £15m saved in Cabinet Office bonuses & ‘Edging away from Care’ report published - by Submitted on Oct 28, 2011 from Roy Rowlands£15m saved in Cabinet Office bonuses Figures from the Cabinet Office show that cuts to the number of civil servants receiving bonuses has saved £15m in six months, as only the top 24% performers in the service are now rewarded. A further £45m is reported to have been saved after ...
Views: 495 - ‘Modern approach’ needed for European Working Time Directive - by Submitted on Nov 16, 2011 from Roy RowlandsThe European Working Time Directive needs ‘common sense’ to reflect modern ways of working, the NHS Confederation’s European Office suggests, as it prepares to negotiate changes to legislation with employer and trade union representatives. These changes must improve the way legislation is ...
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